herpes
Americannoun
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any of several diseases caused by herpesvirus, characterized by eruption of blisters on the skin or mucous membranes.
noun
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After an infection, the virus remains dormant and may return at a later time. Shingles, for example, is a recurrence of the chicken pox virus, and outbreaks of genital herpes recur over time.
Etymology
Origin of herpes
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from New Latin: “cutaneous eruption,” from Greek hérpēs, literally, “a creeping” (derivative of hérpein “to creep, spread”); cognate with Latin serpēns serpent
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A modified herpes virus is injected into tumors, which causes cancer cells to burst and release flares that activate and train the immune system to attack cancer cells throughout the body.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a painful rash with blisters that develops when the virus that causes chickenpox, varicella zoster, becomes active again later in life.
From Science Daily • Feb. 26, 2026
Additionally, the Safari Park has done extensive examination into the endotheliotropic herpes virus.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2026
In Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 2020, as in other military towns across the U.S., rates of sexually transmitted infections like syphilis, herpes simplex and HIV are among the highest in the country.
From Salon • Jul. 20, 2025
The head and hands became covered with suppurating nodules and small exuding herpetic spots, which became confluent and itched terribly, a most classic picture of the herpes of the ancients.
From New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: Papers by Many Writers by Anshutz, Edward Pollock
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
